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  • Relatives Support Programme
  • Malaika Children’s Home
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  • with money
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Malaika Kids has a new bus!

The Malaika Kids children’s home in Dar-es-Salaam has not had its own transport, a situation that became really unworkable. Trying to do the buying for a whole children’s home or for the Relatives Support Programme without transport was a great problem. The children also went to school by public transport – something that isn’t exactly safe in Tanzania. The St. Bernardus junior school in Oud Gastel decided to try and make a difference. Through all sorts of campaigns more than € 5.600 was raised in April 2006 for a good second hand bus.

It took a while to find a suitable bus, but in the end it was found. The children are very happy with it, because this new bus which seats 14 ensures that the children can be taken safely to school. They no longer have to fear Aids infected men who think that sex with a virgin can cure them. The bus can also be used for other necessary journeys, for example to the hospital, or for the trips out sometimes organized for the children.

Najma, the driving force behind Malaika Kids still does all the buying for the children’s home. She used to do that with her own car until this was stolen. There was no money for a new car, but with so many children, an awful lot needs to be bought in. The Relatives Support Programme also requires a lot to be bought, because this form of support involves goods such as food – not money. Last year all such purchases were made using public transport or taxi, but the gift of a bus has fortunately put an end to this situation. The bus also allows us to develop new initiatives, such as setting up distribution points for the goods for the Relatives Support Programme. This allows those families supported by the program to pick up the goods near their homes; not all of them need to come to the children’s home any longer.

Text on the bus: "This bus is donated to Malaika Kids by the children of the St. Bernardus School, Oud Gastel, the Netherlands". The fact that the money for this bus was raised by the children of St. Bernardus school makes the bus even more special for our children in the children’s home. That’s why 123sticker.nl, that made the logo-stickers for the bus free of charge, also made special stickers with the name of the school. A little bit of Oud Gastel rides through Dar-es-Salaam every day!